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Should iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF - Free Report) was launched on 05/22/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $101.76 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.19%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.52%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 42.30% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp- (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 11.51% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc- (AAPL - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp- (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 56.14% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWF seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added roughly 26.53% so far this year and it's up approximately 41.26% in the last one year (as of 07/11/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $256.94 and $382.76.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 21.57% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 443 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IWF is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $140.14 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $304.30 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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